Aqueous chemical solutions are used in a variety of situations. For example, in different applications, aqueous cleaning solutions are used to clean, sanitize, and/or disinfect kitchens, bathrooms, schools, hospitals, factories, and other similar facilities. Aqueous cleaning solutions typically include one or more chemical species dissolved in water. The chemical species impart various functional properties to the water such as cleaning properties, antimicrobial activity, and the like.
Ensuring that an aqueous chemical solution is appropriately formulated for an intended application can help ensure that the solution provides suitable functional properties. For example, the functional properties of some aqueous cleaning solutions vary according to the temperature and the concentration of the chemical species dissolved in water, among other factors. Accordingly, measuring the different characteristics of the aqueous solution before use can be beneficial to understand the properties of the solution and to determine if adjustment is required. While samples of an aqueous solution can be extracted from a source and transported to a laboratory for analysis, such a technique does not always allow for rapid analysis of a solution, which would be helpful for time sensitive applications.
An optical sensor is one type of device that can be used to analyze an aqueous solution. When the optical sensor is implemented online to receive a sample directly from a source, the optical sensor may analyze the characteristics of the sample comparatively rapidly, providing timely feedback for monitoring and adjusting the properties of the solution. Ensuring that the optical sensor is appropriately configured to receive and process the sample on a continuous or semi-continuous basis may be useful for accurately and rapidly monitoring and/or adjusting the properties of the sample source.